Allstate Agency

[pncplanner]

Huck,

I'm a 4-7 year SF Agent. Well said. Trust me, you are well ahead of the game already. I wish you luck.

PnC

 

[superdave45040]

For me the biggest drawback to State Farm is the lack of an objective criteria to "earn" your permanent contract. My friend Jacque invested a year and a half of her life along with her life savings into State Farm. She grew her P/C book by 28% in her first year and was not offered a contract. Did she not do enough auto loans? bank accounts? mutual funds? mortgages? Or did she just irritate the wrong manager? She doesn't know.

 

[CincyInsurance]

Rich-
It's been a little over a year since you posted that you were beginning a scratch independent agency. I have been with Allstate 7 years and considered successful I guess but have grown weary of the and am considering selling and moving to the independent world. How your last year of experience been? Getting going? I appreciate any advise/experience you offer.
S

 

[Agent71]

The biggest difference is that with Allstate, you own your book of business (bob), and one day you can sell it. With State Farm, they own the bob, and you can't sell it....

*** Re: I worked for Allstate this year in recruiting and can confirm this. SF and Farmers agents are not true business owners. Allstate Agency owners own it all and can sell their books for a nice profit. They sell for 2 to 2.5 times the commission rate, which on existing business (not new business) is 9%. So take just a 2 million dollar book of business times 9% and then double that. = Almost a half million!

Remember, when State Farm or any other offers a salary, it is very conditional on performance and the quotas are high. Most agents don't qualify after a short period of time. Guys, please be smart and remember, "there's no free lunch." If they (State Farm) are going to give you something, just like the government, they are going to take it from you somewhere else. There's always a catch!

Don't compare apples to oranges. Be smart. Allstate is overall the best because you're a true business owner! The other companies? -You're just a conditional, glorified employee. Just a producer.

 

[Agent71]

I have been contacted by Allstate and begun the process of becoming an agent and before I get too involved I wanted to hear from other Allstate agents, preferably in the northeast, to give their experiences on the process and then owning an agency.

I have also spoken with State Farm and the biggest difference I have noticed so far is that SF has offered to pay for licenses and pay you a salary during training and Allstate has offered nothing. In fact when I asked I was told even the flight and hotel for the three days I have to be in Chicago are at my expense.

Does this seem accurate? Anyone have a different experience? Can anyone describe the major differences between Allstate and SF?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to make an educated decision.

David

*** RE: I worked in recruiting for Allstate this year and there is plenty of education and a nice financial bonus to pay for it. It's between $5000 and $6000 for you to spend to cover your costs. 8-9 days in Chicago and a couple in Seattle. Remember, there's no free lunches. State Farm offers little perks like paying a few hundred bucks (sometimes) for your licenses, but you pay for it in other ways later. They can't give what they haven't taken or will take. So be smart about it. Plus, name a business you can start that doesn't have start up costs of some kind? Let's put our big boy pants on now think. Let me know when you find a free business to start.

 

[Agent71]

Do NOT enter Allstate's scratch agency program! I went in with a group of 20 agents and the only one that is still around is the agent who purchased a book of business. I was going to buy an agency but thank goodness I didn't. Remeber this with them you DO NOT own your book of business, what you do own is an economic interest. However, if you do not meet the company's expectations you will be out on your arse with what they call a TPP settlement. On top of that the rumor right now is that the commission is about to be cut below 8% with no overhead expense. You need to send an email to [email protected] and ask for a secret decoder ring. It is a newsletter about the inside workings at Allstate. Also, there will more than likely be an Encopass(independent Allstate brand) with better rates and commission just down the road from you. Go to the allstate website and look at all the agencies across the nation for sale, for an agent Allstate is a sinking ship.

*** NOT TRUE!!! Call any Allstate corporate office (Bothell, WA or Chicago) and they will confirm I am right and Soupdawg wanne-be "expert" is off his rocker. I just worked for Allstate this year as a owner recruiter and I can easly tell you that soupdawg is very confused. ALL ASTATE Agency owners OWN their book of business. If you sit and do nothing like soupdawg, instead of gettign out and getting business, then of course you can lose your appointment! Duh! That is so rare though. Who starts a business, just to not work it? Just to fail it? The agency owner just spend thousands of dollars to open his or her office only to want to get it shut down for non-perfomance? This is what soupdawg is saying. Oh and by the way, it's called Ecompass and it's in the process of being shutdown is what I heard recently.

Nice try "expert" No offense, I think you're just confusing Allstate with State Farm is what it sounds like.

 

[Sales71]

*** NOT TRUE!!! Call any Allstate corporate office (Bothell, WA or Chicago) and they will confirm I am right and Soupdawg wanne-be "expert" is off his rocker. I just worked for Allstate this year as a owner recruiter and I can easly tell you that soupdawg is very confused. ALL ASTATE Agency owners OWN their book of business. If you sit and do nothing like soupdawg, instead of gettign out and getting business, then of course you can lose your appointment! Duh! That is so rare though. Who starts a business, just to not work it? Just to fail it? The agency owner just spend thousands of dollars to open his or her office only to want to get it shut down for non-perfomance? This is what soupdawg is saying. Oh and by the way, it's called Ecompass and it's in the process of being shutdown is what I heard recently.

Nice try "expert" No offense, I think you're just confusing Allstate with State Farm is what it sounds like.

Wow this post from 2010...You do not know how to spell the other company that Allstate Owns its called Encompass. Just Curious about Allstate and Esurance is advertising about selling Homeowners now how does that effect the agents?

 

[RicFlairII]

I worked for Allstate for nearly 25 years and would tend to agree with
Soupdawg on this- although there are truths in both statements.

You do NOT own your book of business- you own the economic interest.

Allstate even says this themselves. But they get a little loose with their
terminology when trying to recruit someone, so some mgmt. do say you
own your book. But I can promise you CEO Tom Wilson would not say
under oath that agents own their book.

Allstate has to approve the buyer. So you cannot sell to just anyone you
see fit. This allows the politics of Allstate to enter the selling situation.
The craziest thing is an agent has to be "on pace" in order to be able to
buy another Alstate agents BOB. "On pace" usually means that an agent
has sold a ridiculously high amount of life products. So, most of the time,
a prospective agent with no experience direct off the street can buy
an existing agency easier than a long time Allstate agent who is already
working there. Talk about crazy!

 

[SingingSabre]

Don't compare apples to oranges. Be smart. <redacted for BS> You're just a conditional, glorified employee. Just a producer.

This.

Farmers, State Farm, and Allstate agencies exist at the behest of Famers, State Farm, and Allstate. They can (and will) terminate you when they deem it appropriate. The compensation they leave you with varies depending on how they decide to value your book at the time.

Want to avoid being terminated? Write a bunch of policies, even when it isn't in the clients' best interests.

That's why I went independent.

 

[Insdawg]

I am going thru this same process now. I realize this is an old thread but can you give us an update on how life looks 5 years down the road from this original post?

Lee